Finishing tool



J 18, 1944- J. c. CANTIEE Y 2,353,646 I FINISHING TOOL I Filed May 19, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l Figl July 18, 1944. J. c. CANTLEY 2,353,646

FINISHING TOOL v Filed May 19, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 18, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FINISHING TOOL Joseph G. Cantley, Beverly, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationiMay 19, 1942, Serial No. 443,574

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to finishing tools and is herein illustrated and described as embodied in a tool suitable forwaxing or polishing the soles and shanks of boots or shoes. Tools for performing similar operations upon heel edges and upon portions of the shank adjacent to the heel breast are described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,276,469 granted March 17, 1942, upon the application of Roy W. Cummings. This tool, as pointed out in the patent, operates with a bumping effect upon the work to obtain certain advantages therein mentioned; The principal advantage of this bumping effect is that it results in a harder application of the wax and a brighter polish.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved polishing tool capable of operating upon the broad areas of soles and shanks with a bumping effect. In accordance with a feature of the invention, the illustrated tool consists of a roll body having a plurality of grooves in its periphery extending longitudinally with respect to the axis of the roll body,and .a yieldable member fitted in each of the groves for supporting a finishing cover. another feature, the roll is provided with a plurality of tubular elongated inflatable elements extending longitudinally with respect to the axis of the roll for supporting a finishing cover. In the illustrated machine, these inflatable elements constitute the yieldable members above-mentioned and are fitted in the grooves. Since the inflatable elements have'no greater tendency to bulge at the middle of the roll than at the ends, the roll may be made of any desired length without loss of its substantially cylindrical form.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, v

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal view of one form of the improved finishing tool mounted upon its shaft;

Fig. 2 is a left-hand end view of'the tool shown in Fi 1;

Fig. 3 is a right-hand end view of the tool shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal view of an alternative form of tool mounted upon its shaft;

Fig. 5 is a left-hand end view of the tool shown inFig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a right-hand end view of the tool shown in Fig. 4.

The supporting structure-of the tool shown in roll body; and the left-hand end has a hub 14 In accordance with extending within the roll body. The hubs I2 and M are bored to receive afishaft 16 upon which the tool is mounted. The roll body Ill is secured to the shaft I6 by a set screw I 8 threaded through the left-hand hub. Secured by a forced ,fit within a suitable bore in the left-hand hub of the roll body I0 is a bushing 20 surrounding the shaft l6. Integral with the roll body I6 and extending from the left-hand end thereof is a lug, 22 bored to provide an air passage 24 in which is set an ordinary tire valve 26. Between the lug 22 and. the bushing 20 is an air passage 21 extending parallel to the shaft and communicating at one of its ends with the air passage 24. The opposite end of the passage 21 communicates with an annular air chamber 28 formed in the roll body and surrounding the bushing 28. The lug 22 is tight against the bushing 29 and provides an effective seal for the air passage 2'! and the chamber 28.

Formed in the periphery of the roll body it and extending from one end to the other thereof, in a direction which is lengthwise to the axis of the shaft [6 are a plurality of half cylindrical grooves 39 (Fig. 3). In each of the grooves 36 is set a rubber tube 32 having a diameter equal to that of the groove. The diameter, or thickness, of the tube is thus double the depth of the groove, and the tube therefore extends out of the groove and beyond the periphery of the roll body. If desired, the tubes 32 may be cemented in their grooves. The right-hand end of each tube 32 extends over and is closed by a radially extending plug 34 which is secured in the hub I2 by a set screw 36. The left-hand end of each tube 32 surrounds a nipple 38 which is threaded intothe roll body Ill. The nipp1es 38 extend radially and afford communication between the annular air chamber 28 and the interior .of the rubber tubes 32. Each tube is secured to its plug 34 and to its nipple 38 by ferrules 31. Surrounding the roll body and all the tubes 32 is a cover 4!] of any suitable material such as flannel or canvas. This cover is secured by a draw-string 4| at each end.

The construction illustrated in Fig. 4 comprises a generally cylindrical hollow roll body 42, the periphery at each end of which turns inwardly in the form of a frustum of a cone. Extending inwardly from the right-hand portion of the ,roll

body 42 is a flange 44. Extending inwardly from the central portion of the roll bod 42 is a flange 46. A hub 48 integral with the flange 46 surrounds a shaft 50 and may be secured to the shaft by a suitable set screw 49. Secured to the right-hand end of the flange 44 byscrews 52 is a head 54 which is bored to accommodate the shaft. Adjoining the left-hand end of the roll body 42 is a head 55 having a suitable bore in which a bushing 58 is retained by a forced fit. The bushgrooves to receive a plurality of rubber tubes 62.;-

The walls of the grooves taper off at the conical end portion of the roll body and vanish at the ends of the roll body. The right-hand end of each tube 62 extends over a plug 64 which closes that end of the tube, the tube being secured to the plug by a ferrule 65. Each of the plugs 64 is mounted in a hole formed in the head 54, the axes of these holes constituting elements of a cone having its vertex in the axis of the shaft 50. Each of the plugs 64 has formed in its periphery an annular groove 66; and all the plugs are secured in position upon thehead b means of a snap ring 68 engaging these grooves. Formed'in the periphery of the head 54 is a groove 16 to acccm modate the snap ring 68. Threaded into the head 56 are a plurality of nipples 12, the axes of which constitute elements of a cone having its vertex in the axis of the shaft 50. The left-hand end portion of each of the tubes 62 surrounds the end of one of the nipples l2 and is secured to the nipple by a ferrule 73. Each of the nipples 12 has an axial passage 14 which provides communication between the air chamber 66 and the interior of the tube. Surrounding the roll body and all the tubes 62 is a polishing cover 16. similar to the cover 40 and held in position by similar. draw-strings. It will be noted that the roll body 42 and the left-hand head 56 are secured upon the shaft independently by separate set screws. By securing the head 56 close to or farther from the roll body any desired tension may be obtained in the rubber tubes.

When the shaft 50 is driven, the spaced tubes 32 or 62, which support the finishing cover at circumferentially spaced intervals, operate in a manner similar to the ribs disclosed in Letters Patent No. 2,276,469, above-mentioned, to produce a bumping, effect upon thework. This bumping action serves to spread and work the wax into the surface of the work piece, thereby resulting in a brighter polish, whereas a manual rubbing action would only scour the wax from the work piece. The bumping, moreover, forces the surplus wax through the cover, thereby avoid-. ing an accumulation of. glaze upon the working face of the cover. The bumping effect also reduces the drag on the cover, thus lessening the strain thereon and increasing the life of the cover. It also facilitates .the creeping of the cover around the tool and in this. way insures uniform distribution of wear. The resilient character of the inflated tubes enables the tubes to yield to the contour of the workpiece; and, by suitably regulating the air pressure within the tubes, the operatorcan control the degree of pressure which they will exert upon the work. It has been found that a finishin cover, when used on the above-described roll, has little or vno tendency to form wrinkles or pleats which would soon cut through the cover and shorten its useful life. It is evident that the tubular construction of the illustrated roll enables the roll to be made as long as desired While maintaining its substantially cylindrical form, because the individual tubes have no tendency, when inflated, to bulge more at the center than at the end portions.

While the rolls illustrated herein have been described as polishing rolls and as being provided with polishing covers, it will be understood that these rolls may be used to good advantage for other finishing operations, such as bottom bufling, by providing them with abrasive covers.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A finishing roll, comprising a roll bod having a plurality of grooves in its periphery extending longitudinally with respect to the axis of the roll body, and an elongated yieldable member seated in each of said grooves, each yieldable member having a thickness greater than the depth of its groove, whereby the yieldable members extend out of the grooves and beyond the periphery of said roll body and are thus capable of supporting a finishing cover at circumferentially spaced localities.

2. In a finishing roll, a plurality of tubular elongated inflatable elements extending longitudinally with respect to the axis of the roll for supporting a finishing cover.

3. A finishing roll, comprising a roll body, and a plurality of tubular elongated inflatable elements on the periphery of said roll body for yieldably supporting a finishing cover, said inflatable elements extending across the periphery from one end of the roll body to the other end and being disposed longitudinally with respect to the axis of the roll body.

4. A finishing roll, comprising a roll body having a plurality of grooves extending across its periphery longitudinally with respect to the axis of the roll body, and an inflatable tube in each of said grooves for supporting a finishing cover.

5. A finishing roll, comprising a cylindrical roll body having a plurality of semi-cylindrical grooves in its periphery extending from one end of the roll body to the other end, an inflatable tube in each of said grooves for supporting a finishing cover, means for closing and securing to the roll body the ends of the tubes at one end of the roll body, said roll body having an annular air chamber at its opposite end, and means at the end of said roll body adjacent to said air chamber for securing the ends of the tubes to the roll body and for providing air passages from the chamber into the tubes.

6. A finishing roll, comprising a roll body having a plurality of inflatable tubes extending across its periphery for yieldabl supporting a finishing cover, said roll body at one of its ends having an air chamber, a plurality of tubular nipples secured in said end of the roll body for supporting the adjacent ends of the tubes, said nipples providing air passages from said annular chamber to the interiors of said tubes, and a plurality of plugs secured in the other end of the roll body for closing and supporting the adjacent ends of the tubes.

7. In a finishing roll, a plurality of tubular elongated inflatable elements extending longitudinally of the axis of the roll for supporting a finishing cover, a support at each end of the roll for said inflatable elements, and means for adjustably securing said supports in axially spaced relation to each other to obtain a desired tension in said inflatable elements.

JOSEPH C. CAN I'LEY. 

